Hi folks,

My wife and I bought our first townhome 4 years ago. the complex was built in the mid 80s here in california. one thing i've learned is that home association and property management companies are the f'g devil. not to mention, we have this old couple who've lived here for years. they are the hypocritical rule mongers who report everything and anything. i cant even fart without being reported.

anyways, HOAs aside, we noticed about 2 years ago that our bedroom door closet door would not shut all the way. we thought this might be a seasonal thing as it closed during the winter just fine. well now in the same bedroom, the sliding glass door does not shut flush. when you close the door, there is a large gap that narrows as it gets towards the lock. so we called our HOA and they sent the president. the president noticed that the floor felt buckled, so he called an inspection company. the kid (probably a good 19 yrs old, says the wife) said "you need a new sliding door". we told him thanks and have a nice day. so we complained again and then they sent another inspection company. this guy said "oh man, you guys have a serious structural issue going on here." he noticed some cracks outside and told my wife that he'd make his report to the HOA.

so months go by and we do not see the report. i keep asking and asking, but get blown off. finally, worse comes to worse and I make a very polite yet somewhat veiled threat and then instead of the copy of the letter, we get the lawyer's interpretation of what the HOA covers and that structural issues are the home owner's responsibility. needless to say, that raised eyebrows. we didnt ask for a freakin' interpretation, we asked for a copy of the report.

so i said just that and the rep at the mgt company said "i'll have to ask the attorney if i can release it to you".

what a bunch of horse crap. seems to me something in that report is very damaging, hence the delay, blow offs, and the defensive response from their attorney.

perhaps i'm reading this all with too thick suspicion glasses, but i'm old enough and been around the block a few times enough to smell a rat.

so questions to structural engineers: what causes a house to settle abnormally? it seems that this seam that the president felt is the point where our unit is buckling. we've yet to pull the carpet, but i may do so in about 2 weeks when i have the time.

attorneys: if the HOA (or the mgt company---we're not sure who paid for the inspection) says "sorry, no you can't see the report", is that legal? or can we supboena a copy if we file a lawsuit? i mean shoot, its about our house. if there is something dangerous, we sure would like to know about it.

or would it just be better to hire an independent structural/engineering company to look at our property and make a legal case against the association? i would think that since we technically own a share of the building but do not own the land that it sits on (i think this is how it goes), anything related to the earth would be the responsibility of the land owner.

oh i dont know, i'm not a lawyer. but thats just my best guess why the mgt company's attorney kept stressing the building aspect of whats covered under structural damage.

thanks,
bob